Deadline
by BrYtt BRatt
Summary: Him decides the Rowdyruff Boys need an incentive to defeat the Powerpuff Girls. Now both trios must fight for their very lives! Who will live to see morning? [REPOSTED.]
1. Chapter 1

This was originally my first Powerpuff Girls story. It was removed for being in script format. And now, I'm tweaking it into prose form and reposting it for the sake of finishing something! I still have yet to complete a multi-chapter story.

Note: There are some things in my fan fiction that I made up. (Special powers, the girls' new school etc.)

"Deadline"

Chapter 1

………………………………

The city of Townsville was having a beautiful October day. The sun was shining, there was a cool balmy breeze, and the trees were in autumn colors of gold, red, and brown.

A middle-aged man in a brown suit walked up to an outdoor produce stand to purchase some fresh fruit. An old lady working at the stand handed him his change.

"This is a really nice town, and all the people are so polite," the man commented. "But what's with all those damaged buildings and streets downtown?"

"Oh, that's no biggie," the lady said. "The construction workers are on the job fixing them.

"I know, but what caused all that destruction?"

The lady smiled. "Oh, you must be a newbie. The Rowdyruff Boys caused half of the destruction there. Then they did the other half when fighting with the Powerpuff Girls. I say, to those rascals, illegal is a sick bird."

"You seem pretty calm about this..." said the man, his eyebrows furrowed.

"Oh, you'll get used to it."

The man walked down the sidewalk with a peculiar look on his face. He heard a rumbling noise, but didn't notice until it started getting louder. And louder!

**BOOM**!

He spun around to see two children fighting. One was a boy who looked around seven. He wore black jeans and sneakers, a red sweatshirt with a black stripe that matched his red eyes, and a cap over his knee-length red hair. The other was a girl who was also about seven years old. She had red hair that was as long as the boy's, except neater and in a ponytail, pink eyes, and wore a red bow on the top of her head. She wore what looked like a school uniform; a white sailor suit top with a blue collar, a yellow tie and a blue pleated skirt.

The boy in red was named Brick and he was the leader of the Rowdyruff Boys. The girl's name was Blossom and she was the leader of the Powerpuff Girls. It had been a little over a year since the Rowdyruff boys appeared for a second time. The Powerpuff Girls had graduated Pokey Oaks Kindergarten and were now attending Rainendai Academy, a private school with a reputation for fine education.

Blossom and Brick were having a pretty close hand-to-hand fight. Brick flew up overhead and took a deep breath. Blossom noticed this and also breathed in. Out of Brick's mouth blew a blast of red fire. It was countered by Blossom's ice breath. The blasts collided and streams of water sprayed in all directions.

The man decided to get out of the way and started running down the street. But he came to a screeching halt to avoid being hit by two blue streaks of light. The two streaks stopped in midair and the man saw another Powerpuff Girl and Rowdyruff Boy. The blonde pigtailed Powerpuff Girl was named Bubbles, and the blonde shaggy-haired Rowdyruff Boy was Boomer. Bubbles wore the same uniform as Blossom and Boomer wore the same outfit as Brick, except the shirt was navy blue instead of red.

Bubbles fired a flurry of energy balls from her hands at Boomer. Boomer put his hands together, forming a glowing bat. He swung it, and the force made a wave that struck the balls right back at Bubbles. She was caught off guard for a second, but managed to dodge them all. She neutralized the last few with a sonic scream.

The man ran even faster, but again was stopped short. This time, a large chunk of a building landed with a CRASH right in front of him! After a moment, another Powerpuff girl climbed out of the rubble. She had short black hair and also wore a school uniform. Her name was Buttercup. Above, a Rowdyruff boy in green with black spiked hair was waiting for her. His name was Butch.

Buttercup and Butch charged at each other and engaged in hand-to-hand combat. Butch was furiously firing punches at Buttercup, but she was able to either dodge or block them all. When Butch looked like he was getting tired, Buttercup began to punch and kick at him. Butch was able to dodge and block some blows, but a few punches got through. Butch was knocked to the ground, but got up quickly. He looked up to see green blasts flying at him. Unable to dodge, he quickly put up his special shield. The blasts were absorbed on impact.

"That's it! I'm going back to Citysville!" the man yelled. "At least there I don't have to worry about buildings falling on me!"

The boys decided it was time for a team attack. They distracted the girls with punches and kicks, causing them to slowly back up towards each other. When the girls were almost back-to-back, the boys quickly jumped backwards into a triangle around the girls. They then started to run in circles around the girls, picking up speed and sending up dust in the process. The boys got up enough speed that they were just streaks of their respective colors.

They formed a tornado with the girls trapped inside. The girls were being blown around and around helplessly, occasionally slamming into each other as the boys started flying in circles instead of running. Still going, the boys began firing their laser eye-beams into the tornado, zapping the girls. But eventually, Boomer's laser missed and hit Butch instead. This stunned Butch, slowing him down and causing Brick to collide into him. The tornado wind stopped and the girls were dizzy, mostly from all the spinning.

"Watch where you're aiming!" Butch yelled.

Boomer grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, dude."

The girls got back to their senses and were ready for a team attack of their own. Blossom smirked.

"Not bad, but not good enough. Girls! Operation 3-AT9-5!"

Bubbles was confused. "Huh? 3-89-5?"

"Do you mean "AT9" or "Eighty-nine?" Buttercup asked, equally confused.

The boys face stared at the girls, then looked at each other and shrugged.

Exasperated, Blossom sighed. "Never mind…Let's do the old KTAO attack. Go!"

The girls flew off leaving only their colored streaks. The boys flew up after them. Seeing the boys, Blossom nodded once to her sisters, signaling them to do step 2. The girls split up, causing the boys to split up as well. Each boy chased after his counterpart.

Meanwhile…

In a place where the air is filled with an evil aura, a figure was watching the battle between the six super-powered kids. The shadows moved to reveal that the figure is none other than the sinister son of Satan: Him. And he didn't look the least bit pleased.

"Again, they are too evenly matched. I know those boys can defeat the Powerpuff Girls. They ARE strong enough!"

In deep thought, he unconsciously waved his lobster claw in circles. When he snapped out of his daydreaming and looked at his claw, an idea popped into his head. He grinned evilly, and his voice lowered to the rumbling tone of an earthquake.

"What those boys need is a little motivation…"

(To be continued…)

………………………………………

Note: In case you wanted to know, Rai nendai literally means "next generation" in Japanese.

I began this story three years ago, and decided to repost it and FINISH it! I hope this will be my first completed multi-chapter story.


	2. Him Takes Action

"Deadline"

Chapter 2:

All three girls (with the boys after them) flew around this way and that. Each pair took twists and turns, gaining more and more speed the whole time.

When the girls thought they were going fast enough, they suddenly stopped, turned around, and gave a swift powerful punch in the incoming boys' stomachs. The force of the boys going in the opposite direction of the punch combined with their high speed made the strike do a lot of damage.

With the air knocked out of them, the boys collapsed on the ground gasping for breath, their faces scrunched up in pain. (KTAO must have stood for "knock the air out.")

"How do you like our KTAO attack, guys?" Blossom bragged. "It's a special attack we made up just for you!"

The boys didn't answer. They were too busy trying to breathe.

"Okay, now! Let's finish them!" exclaimed Buttercup.

The girls charged downward, hurtling themselves at the boys like meteors. But before they could give the fatal blow, the ground below the boys suddenly seemed to become liquid. They quickly sank down into the pavement.

"What the--?"

The Powerpuff girls had no time to stop themselves; they ended up smashing a deep crater in the now hard asphalt.

"Where did they go?" asked Bubbles.

"I don't know, but they'll be back." Blossom replied.

"Yeah, and we'll be ready for them," Buttercup finished.

The girls picked up their schoolbags and headed for home.

…………………………………

In the dimension of darkness, a reddish cloud formed and spat the Rowdyruff boys out. They had recovered from the girls' attack and looked around.

"Where are we?" said Butch.

Just then they were greeted by the cruelest, most wicked villain ever known: Him.

"Hello, boys. Did you have fun playing with the girls?"

"Huh? Who are you?" Boomer asked.

"Wait! Now I remember!" Butch exclaimed. "You're the one who brought us back to life!"

"What do you want?" said Brick.

"I want to help you defeat those brats," answered Him.

Brick shook his head and waved his hands. "Ohhh, no! I remember the last time you 'helped' us with that 'cootie shot' thing! It did make us stronger, but it had a little catch!"

"Besides, we don't need you to beat those girls!" Butch added.

"Yeah! We can do it ourselves!" Boomer finished.

Him nodded. "Oh, I know you can. You're just not trying hard enough."

"Not trying hard enough?" Boomer repeated.

"Right," Him replied. "That's where I come in."

The boys had a confused expression on their faces.

"You want to help us try harder?" Brick asked suspiciously. "How?"

"You'll see," Him smirked. He twirled his claw in circles, streaming a thin black smoke.

Brick was alarmed for a moment. "Hey, hold it! We didn't even agree to this yet!"

But before the boys could react, they felt a cold and sharp sensation rush through their bodies. They felt as if some sort of force was pulling at them from the inside out. The whole time, Him snickered wickedly.

……………………………

At the Utonium household, the Powerpuff girls were busy doing their math homework. Blossom was having a breeze, Bubbles was counting on her "fingers", and Buttercup was grumbling about how stupid it was to carry digits. Bubbles looked up at her sisters with a slightly uneasy look on her face.

"Um, girls? I've been thinking…"

"About what, Bubbles?" asked Blossom.

Bubbles' eyes wandered uneasily around the room. "Well, I was thinking about the Rowdyruff boys. I know I may sound crazy for saying this, but…do you think they really are evil?"

"Duh!" Buttercup interjected. "Of course they're evil!"

Ignoring Buttercup's rudeness for the moment, Blossom added, "They steal, hurt people, and cause a whole lot of trouble. They're like a super-powered Gangreen Gang."

"Yeah," Bubbles said. "But the Gangreen Gang planned to take over Townsville twice; once when Buttercup liked Ace and again when they gained superpowers from radioactive snacks. The Rowdyruff Boys never tried once to rule the city or totally destroy it."

"Hmm. Now that you mention it, the boys also don't cooperate with other villains," Blossom supposed. "They rejected Princess when she offered to help them and tied up Fuzzy in his own house."

Buttercup stood up from her chair, an incredulous look on her face. "Are you guys saying the Rowdyruff Boys aren't bad!"

"I'm just saying Bubbles may have a point," Blossom explained. "The boys don't really have totally evil intentions. Everything they do is just for fun."

"So what you're saying is that the guys aren't really evil, just… delinquents?" said Buttercup.

Bubbles and Blossom nodded. Buttercup thought for a moment. She wasn't in the mood to argue, so she sat back down.

"Maybe you're right. Just maybe."

The Powerpuff girls had never thought of that before. Over a long time, they always saw the Rowdyruff boys as enemies who must be stopped. All they ever did was fight, fight, and fight some more. But now they were starting to have some second thoughts…

……………………………

Meanwhile…

The Rowdyruff boys stared up at the sneering demon. Their faces had a look of terror and disbelief combined.

"No…way…" Brick said.

"This can't be happening," Butch added.

"You have five hours," Him cackled maliciously as he disappeared in a pink cloud and the domain faded into dark mist. The boys found themselves back in the streets of Townsville where they last had their fight with the Powerpuff Girls.

"Now what'll we do…?" Boomer asked, his voice cracking in fear.

Brick gulped. "The only thing we can do, Boomer. Five hours may sound like a lot of time, but something tells me it really isn't."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Butch exclaimed. His forceful tone lit a spark of determination in his brothers.

"Right. Let's go!" Brick commanded.

The boys took off and flew past a clock on top of a store that read 7:00. They zoomed off to Pokey Oaks suburbs where the Powerpuff girls resided, now more determined than ever to vanquish their female rivals.

(To be continued…)

A/N: I know the conversation between the PPGs may conflict some things in "Custody Battle," but 1.) The Powerpuffs weren't even in that episode; and 2.) I wrote this chapter before the episode aired.


	3. Outmatched

Disclaimer: I don't own the Powerpuff Girls.

"Deadline"

Chapter 3:

The Rowdyruff Boys arrived at Pokey Oaks and hovered above the Utonium household. Brick motioned to his brothers to huddle. The boys began whispering to each other.

"What is it, Brick?" Butch asked. "Do you have a plan?"

"Yeah, and if we do it, then we've got a much better chance of winning."

"Well then, what is it?" said Boomer.

"If we attack when the girls are ready for us, then they'd fight better. So the plan is, we'll surprise them with a sudden ambush. Then when they're still off guard, we'll finish them as quickly as possible."

Boomer and Butch nodded once. "Okay."

The boys parted. Very quietly, they landed on the roof. They waited at the edge above the three round windows that connected to the Powerpuff girls' bedroom. From inside the house, they could hear the girls chit-chatting.

"Well, Buttercup, it looks like you're starting to like taking baths!" Bubbles chirped.

"I am not!" Buttercup protested. "I still think it's just a waste of time!"

"Oh, really? Then just who was the last one of us out of the tub tonight?" Blossom argued, an amused look on her face.

"Just admit it," said Bubbles. "You love to soak in the water and look at your hands and feet when they're all wrinkled like pru-- Oh, hi boys!"

THUD! THUD! THUD!

The girls went over to their windows, opened them and looked down at the boys who had just fallen flat on their faces outside.

"What are you doing here?" Bubbles.

Buttercup smirked. "Let me guess. You want a rematch?"

"How did you know we were here?" Butch called.

"We could see Brick's hair hanging in front of the window," Blossom answered.

Boomer and Butch glared at Brick, who slapped his forehead in frustration. Brick shook his head and then pointed his fist at the girls.

"Enough about that. Girls, prepare to die!"

The girls leaped out of their windows, ready to fight. The boys shot up in a charge!

Boomer landed an uppercut to Blossom's chin, sending her somersaulting into the air. He followed after her, about to attack again. But just in time, Blossom got over the shock and ducked Boomer's high kick. She fired a punch at Boomer's head, just barely missing him.

Butch grabbed Bubbles' leg and threw her down to the ground hard. Bubbles opened her eyes just in time to see Butch zoom down and give an elbow jab in her stomach. Then he was sitting on her chest, giving a series of rapid one-two punches to her face.

Brick and Buttercup charged at each other, but at the last second, Brick flipped backward, kicking Buttercup in the back of the head, knocking her a few feet forward. Brick turned around and was about to punch Buttercup. But she caught his fist and pulled him into a sleeper hold.

Buttercup noticed Butch, who was beating Bubbles up on the ground, so she flung Brick down at him.

WHAM!

Butch was knocked off of Bubbles and skidded across the yard with Brick. Bubbles immediately stood back up and noticed Blossom having a bit of a struggle with the elusive Boomer.

"I'll go help Blossom!" Bubbles called.

"Okay!" Buttercup replied.

Bubbles flew over to Blossom and Boomer, leaving Buttercup to deal with Brick and Butch all by herself. Boomer was avoiding lasers being shot by Blossom, frustrating her even more and more. Suddenly Bubbles popped out of nowhere in front of Boomer.

"BOO!"

"WHA--!"

Blossom took the opportunity to give Boomer a flying kick to the back. Then Bubbles joined in beating Boomer. Blossom looked down and saw Buttercup fighting both Brick and Butch. Buttercup was so busy blocking blows, she didn't have a chance to attack. Occasionally a punch or kick got through. Blossom knew she was getting tired and couldn't hold out much longer. Finally she shouted up to her sisters.

"I could use a hand here!"

"Bubbles, you take care of Boomer. I'll help Buttercup."

Blossom flew down and laser-eyed Brick on the back of his head. Brick turned and zipped up to take Blossom on. The fight went from two sets of 2-against-1 to three pairs fighting one-on-one.

After several minutes of fighting, the girls were starting to get a bit tired, giving the boys the upper hand. Brick knocked Blossom down to the ground and shot a laser. Blossom rolled out of the way by a hair, almost literally.

'Is it me, or is Brick fighting better than usual?' Blossom thought.

In the meantime, Bubbles was zooming around the neighborhood with Boomer on her tail. She zipped this way and that, dodging the lasers being fired at her. One laser hit a fire hydrant, causing it to spray water at Bubbles, forcing her back. Boomer caught up to her easily and began pummeling her.

'How did he get this good?'

Meanwhile, Buttercup gave a roundhouse kick, but Butch ducked. He grabbed her other foot and started to swing her around in circles. He let go, sending her flying toward the wall, then zoomed after. Buttercup somersaulted once and bounced off the wall with her feet, shooting back toward Butch. But he was ready for that and slammed her across the collarbone with his arm. Buttercup fell to the ground.

Buttercup gritted her teeth. 'Man, this bites!'

The Powerpuff Girls and Rowdyruff Boys gathered in their groups. The girls shot up into the sky and put their hands together.

"Starburst formation!" Blossom exclaimed.

The girls fired laser beams from their hands that merged into a broad ray at the boys. The boys charged straight into the beam with Butch between Brick and Boomer. Just before it was about to hit them, Butch put up his shield in the shape of an oval, thus protecting his brothers as they plowed right through the blast!

Behind the shield, Brick and Boomer charged up energy in their fists in their respective colors. When the boys were right in front of the girls, Butch let down his shield and Boomer and Brick fired a mighty blast of energy.

KA-BOOM!

There was an explosion and the girls plunged like falling stars. Barely conscious, Blossom lay on the ground and turned to face her sisters, who were also hurt.

"Girls…I'm afraid to say this, but…we'll have to retreat."

The Rowdyruff Boys floated down menacingly with a glare.

"Don't bother trying to get away, 'cause you won't," growled Brick.

To be continued

A/N: I've started college already, so I won't be working on my fanfiction for quite a while. I know, just tweaking an already-written story shouldn't take long at all, but I have to devote my time to studying now. Waah!


	4. Chase through Townsville

Just today I had a math exam, so I needed some good old fanfiction to calm myself.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Powerpuff Girls. If I did, the Rowdyruff Boys would have returned much sooner.

"Deadline"

Chapter 4:

…………………………

The Powerpuff Girls looked up in horror at their powerful nemeses, the Rowdyruff Boys. It took all they had not to tremble, let alone cry out. Brick cracked his knuckles loudly.

"All right, we'll go easy on you and finish this quickly."

Blossom tried to think of something quick. But the more she rushed to think, the blanker her mind was. Buttercup did the first thing that came to her mind; she pointed at the sky.

"Hey! What's that!"

Boomer looked back.

"Boomer, you moron! You just fell for the oldest trick in the book!" Butch exclaimed.

Brick groaned in exasperation. "Yeah. If you fall for something like that, then the girls, in fact, ANYONE, would easily escape!"

"Uh…guys…they just did," Boomer said quite bluntly.

"WHAT!" the green and red ruffs yelled in unison.

Boomer was right. The girls were long gone! The boys looked around and spotted three colored streaks of light zoom toward Townsville.

"After them!" Brick ordered. The three boys took off in flight.

Butch glared at Boomer. "Boomer, this is all your fault!"

But actually, all three were at fault; Boomer for falling for an old trick, and Brick and Butch for letting it distract them. The boys flew after the girls in hot pursuit.

The girls split up and headed in different directions; Bubbles toward the harbor, Blossom toward downtown, and Buttercup toward Tokyo Townsville. The boys also split up, each going after his counterpart. But this time, the boys kept a short distance between themselves and the girls, just in case the girls would try another KTAO attack.

…………………………

At the harbor, Bubbles zigzagged between piles of wood and metal crates in an attempt to lose Boomer. He somehow seemed to be everywhere at once, because he would always come up from around a corner and block her path. Meanwhile, Boomer was taking wild guesses of which way to turn within the maze of boxes. He would often run into Bubbles, but then lose her as she zipped around another corner.

Both blondes were getting frustrated. Bubbles figured that the only way Boomer couldn't "sneak up" on her was if they were out in the open. She shot straight up and flew over the dock to the sea. Boomer saw her and tailed after.

They zoomed over the ocean. Bubbles skimmed her feet on the water's surface, sending up a spray of saltwater into Boomer's face. And of course, everyone knows how much it stings when you get salt in your eyes. Boomer covered his eyes and followed the cool spray, knowing that Bubbles would be there. But suddenly…

BANG!

Boomer had just collided head first into a metal buoy the size of a small boat. It split in half and rocked wildly before it sunk down to the bottom. He rubbed his forehead and shook his head to get over the dizziness. From the corner of his eye, he spotted a small streak of baby blue light flying toward the forest beyond Townsville, and zoomed off after it.

…………………………

In downtown, Blossom zipped around corners and took twists and turns to avoid Brick, but he was able to stay close behind her. She looked back to see if Brick was still behind her. Brick plucked a lamppost out of the ground and threw it at Blossom like a spear. She ducked down from the pole just in time, and it jammed right through the bulls-eye on a Target billboard.

Blossom headed further down into the subway through the underground entrance. Brick followed after by busting in through the ceiling. As bits of cement fell around Blossom, she raced into the subway tunnel, her pink streak trailing behind. She felt something hot on her back and turned her head. Bright red fire was jetting after her like a rocket!

Blossom sped up and dashed down the tunnel, with the flames rushing behind her as if going through a pipe. Finally she made it to the other end of the tunnel and zipped out the exit. The fire burst out of the tunnel like a hose and Brick flew out of the subway by busting through the ceiling. Blossom headed toward the woods outside of Townsville, with Brick right behind her.

…………………………

Down in Tokyo Townsville, Buttercup hardly made any effort to escape Butch. Once she passed a few lighted buildings, she slowed down to a stop and turned to face him. Butch was quite pleased that Buttercup wasn't going to continue running away like a wimp. She was giving him a great chance to finish her off!

Buttercup and Butch charged at each other and collided in an explosion. Buttercup fired a punch, but Butch ducked and gave a low sweeping kick to her leg. Since they were in midair, the kick caused Buttercup to do somersault sideways. Buttercup landed on her feet on a building roof, and was barely able to block the rapid punches Butch fired at her.

Buttercup was guarding herself very well, but she was still weakened by the fight back at home. Butch managed to get some punches and kicks through. He gave a mighty punch and knocked Buttercup back. She tumbled over the edge, fell past a neon sign and hit her head on a thick metal pole. Buttercup got up, grabbed the pole and yanked it right off the wall, the screws popping out.

Butch jumped down from the roof to continue fighting Buttercup, but didn't see the pole until it was too late. Buttercup gave a mighty swing and sent Butch flying face-first toward a giant screen with 9:26 in digital numbers. The numbers changed to 9:27, right before he crashed into it. Sparks and pieces of the clock flew everywhere and the lights around it went out.

A singed Butch climbed out of the hole he smashed and saw that Buttercup was heading to the forest. Furious, he jetted off after her.

…………………………

Above the forest, a good distance away from the city, the girls met with each other, both tired from the long chase. They looked back to see the boys back in their group and approaching fast.

"Just great! They're still after us!" Blossom muttered.

"Oh no, we're back to square one!" Bubbles said, worried. "What'll we do!"

"We can't just keep running away, Bubbles! We have to fight back!" Buttercup replied.

"But they're too strong!" Bubbles protested.

Blossom clenched her fist, a determined look in her eye. "I have a plan, girls! Here's what we'll do…"

To be continued…


	5. Rematch

Disclaimer: I don't own the Powerpuff Girls.

"Deadline"

Chapter 5:

…………………………

Blossom quickly told her sisters the plan, but Buttercup wasn't all too eager to follow it. "Blossom, that doesn't make sense!"

"Just do it!" Blossom replied.

After a brief pause, Buttercup skeptically nodded. The girls turned to face the Rowdyruff boys with a determined look on their faces and lined up in an organized fighting stance.

"Are you ready?" asked Blossom.

Bubbles and Buttercup nodded. "Ready!"

The girls charged forward. Seeing this, the boys got ready. When the girls were near enough, Brick blew his fire breath at them. Boomer and Butch went forward to attack. But when Brick stopped blowing his fire, the girls were nowhere in sight. But then suddenly, POW! The boys were struck from behind.

The girls stuck in their group, as did the boys. So when attacking, all of the kids had to be careful not to hit a teammate. The girls were mostly evading the boys' blows, but they would often attack to make sure the boys wouldn't suspect a trick.

Eventually, both the RRBs and the PPGs were weary. They had scratches and bruises here and there, and their hair was a bit mussed. The only difference was that the girls had much more wounds, and their clothes were a little raggedy at the edges. Still, the girls just kept on fighting.

After a moment, Boomer noticed that Bubbles had somehow disappeared from the brawl. But before he could mention that, his brothers were smashed on either side of him by Blossom and Buttercup. The two sisters pushed off and backed away.

Suddenly the boys were thrown off guard by Bubbles' sonic scream. They covered their ears and clenched their teeth. While the boys were still stunned, Buttercup slammed them down to the forest floor with a flying kick. Then Blossom used her ice breath to bind them to the ground. After only a few seconds, the boys were almost completely covered. They couldn't even turn their heads to laser-eye the ice.

The boys struggled, but they were so exhausted and weakened by the fight that they couldn't break the ice. The girls let out a sigh of relief and flew off trailing their colored streaks of light, and rubbing their aching muscles.

When they were out of the boys' hearing range, Buttercup turned to Blossom and scowled.

"Pinning them down, I understand that. But why the heck did you want us to just leave them! Why not finish them right there!"

"Buttercup, do you think you could beat them in your condition? You know that they weren't half as tired as we are. In fact, we're lucky we even managed to pull off my plan," Blossom explained.

"I know, but we still did it, nonetheless!" Buttercup protested. "You know that if we don't beat them now, they'll be back!"

"Yes, they WILL be back, but we'll be ready for them. We're going home."

Buttercup's eyes widened. "WHAT! Home! But that's the first place where they'll look!"

"No it's not. Trust me."

When Bubbles was sure they were done with their conversation, she asked in a small voice, "Blossom? Buttercup?"

Blossom turned to face the blonde. "Yeah, Bubbles?"

"Do you still believe the boys aren't evil? I still do…"

Incredulous, Buttercup interrupted, "After the thrashing they just gave us, you still think that?"

Bubbles turned her attention to Buttercup. "You mean you still think they're evil? I thought you agreed with us!"

"I didn't **really** agree. I just had mixed feelings at the time. But now, I'm sure of it! The Rowdyruff boys are pure evil!"

Bubbles turned to Blossom.

"Blossom, you believe me, don't you?"

Blossom didn't answer. Her face looked unsure and slightly sad. In truth, none of the Powerpuff girls were completely sure whether or not the Rowdyruff boys were really bad. Buttercup mostly believed that the boys were, Bubbles generally believed that they weren't, and Blossom had no idea what to think. But there was one thing for sure; all of them were slowly starting to lose faith.

…………………………

Back in the forest, Brick was using his fire breath to melt the ice around his face. He kept his small and steady flame going until he finally could turn his head. He laser-eyed the ice that bound him, melting it quickly. Once he was free, he used his lasers to release his brothers.

"Come on, guys!" said Brick. "We lost a lot of valuable time!"

"But where do we start?" Butch asked. "We don't even know where the girls went!"

Boomer decided to share his idea. "Maybe they went home."

BOP!

"Ow!"

"Dude, that's just plain dumb!" Brick said. Under his breath he added, "But still, it IS you I'm talking about…"

"Why is it so dumb?"

Butch agreed with Boomer. "Yeah, man. I don't get it."

"Those Powder puffs may be girls, but they're not that stupid," Brick explained. "They know that their house is the first place where we'd look, so that's the last place where they'd hide!"

"Hmm, you're right. So they're probably somewhere in Townsville," Butch agreed.

The Rowdyruff Boys took off toward the sleeping (and incredibly oblivious) city.

Boomer crossed his arms. "I still think they went home."

"Shut up!"

…………………………

In the Utonium household, the Powerpuff Girls were taking a nice hot bath for the second time in one night. The water shined a silvery bluish color. Blossom couldn't help but let out a long relaxed sigh.

"Ahh…The Professor really outdid himself when he made these bath salts with Chemical X. I feel better already."

"Good for you," Buttercup muttered. "Now what is your big plan, leader girl?"

"Well, now that we've recovered, we should stand a chance against the boys. And if we use some of my battle strategies, we can win."

"But they're stronger than ever now," said Bubbles.

Blossom raised a hand. "Au contraire, Bubbles. Actually, the boys are no stronger than they always were. I mean we managed to subdue them, remember? They were just fighting harder and better than usual then. But now we know what we're up against and we'll be prepared!"

With all of their injuries completely healed, the girls got out of the tub and wrapped themselves in their bath towels. Before they drained the water, Blossom mixed in some powdered Antidote X to neutralize the Chemical X.

A few minutes later, the girls were in their bedroom, getting ready for round 2 with the Rowdyruff Boys. They were now in their original respectively colored dresses.

The boys had better brace themselves, because the girls were back in business.

…………………………

"NOW do you believe me?" Boomer said in an almost taunting tone.

Brick had an annoyed look on his face and didn't say a word. Butch was just as agitated.

"Come on, admit it! I was right and you were wrong!"

Brick was still in defensive mode. "Just because I was wrong doesn't mean you were right! They could have been here and not in their house."

Boomer rolled his eyes. " Oh, really? Well then, where are they now?"

"Right here," a not-so-distant voice answered.

The boys turned to see the Powerpuff Girls ready for action again.

"Don't think we'll go easy on you," Blossom smirked.

Brick smirked back. "Heh. That sounds funny since you're the ones who ran off with your tails between your legs."

"Hmph!" Blossom pouted. "Girls, 'Heaven's Haze' maneuver, now!"

The girls charged and engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the boys. After less than a minute of fighting, each girl suddenly zipped down under the boys. The girls got into their group and formed another combined beam, except slightly different from the starburst formation. The ray didn't really harm the boys, but it did blast them up into the sky.

The girls flew up after the boys into the clouds high above Pokey Oaks. Again, the kids split into three pairs with each other's counterparts.

Boomer fired as punch, but Bubbles ducked out of the way. She jumped up, gave a knee kick to Boomer's chin and somersaulted backwards into the clouds. She began zipping in and out of the clouds and quickly striking Boomer with each swoop.

The leaders were having a similar situation. Brick gave a roundhouse kick toward Blossom, but she jumped up and gave him a double-fisted slam between his shoulders. Before he could strike back, Blossom dove into a cloud out of sight. But for some reason, Brick didn't also jump into the clouds. He just stayed out in the open and shot lasers into random spots in the clouds, allowing Blossom to frequently pop out and strike him. Whenever she hit him, he would try to hit her back, but miss.

Butch fired a flurry of punches that Buttercup dodged easily. Every so often, she would give a punch or kick. Strangely, every blow she made was a direct hit.

'Wait a minute. Something's wrong…' she thought.

She backed away and fired a blast of green energy from her hand. Butch raised his arms, but not his shield. So he was sent flying backward into a cloud.

"I knew it!"

Buttercup left Butch and hurried over to her sisters. As Buttercup expected, Bubbles and Blossom were winning because their opponents were holding back. However, they didn't seem to notice what was going on. They were too busy jumping in and out of the clouds and attacking.

"All right, boys, the jig is up! Why aren't you fighting back?" Buttercup exclaimed.

Bubbles and Blossom gave a confused "Huh?"

"Because we-"

"SHUT UP, BOOMER!" Brick shouted. He turned to Buttercup. "What are you babbling about?"

Buttercup crossed her arms. "Quit pretending you don't know."

Butch suddenly shot out from inside the cloud the kids were standing on, obviously irritated.

"What the heck is takin' you so long?"

"See?" said Buttercup. "Butch let me knock him down too easily and then he was just waiting for me to attack him again! What are you guys up to?"

Blossom and Bubbles realized that Buttercup was right. How else could they have been winning so easily? Normally, the girls would have a harder time fighting the boys, but this fight was too one-sided. Not to mention that what Boomer had just said meant they WERE holding back on purpose. From the way the girls were glaring, Brick could tell that he had no choice but to tell the truth, and so he swallowed his pride.

"Okay. We were holding back because… we want you to finish us off."

All three girls' eyes widened to the size of dinner plates.

"WHAT!"

To be continued…


	6. The Truth Revealed

Disclaimer: I don't own the Powerpuff Girls.

"Deadline"

Chapter 6:

…………………………

It was a dark autumn night in the city of Townsville. The Powerpuff Girls stared in pure shock at the Rowdyruff Boys. They couldn't believe what they just heard. Was there something wrong with their ears? Did Brick really say what they thought he did?

Buttercup was the first able to speak. "Wait a second!" she sputtered. "You attack us and chase after us all night, and now you're telling us to just finish you off! You're not making any sense at all!"

"You want to know why then, huh?" said Brick.

"Of course we do!" Bubbles replied.

Brick took a breath and started to explain. "Well then…it all started this afternoon after our earlier fight. When we supposedly disappeared, we actually met Him."

…………………………

"What do you want?" said Brick.

"I want to help you defeat those brats," answered Him.

Brick shook his head and waved his hands. "Ohhh, no! I remember the last time you 'helped' us with that 'cootie shot' thing! It did make us stronger, but it had a little catch!"

"Besides, we don't need you to beat those girls!" Butch added.

"Yeah! We can do it ourselves!" Boomer finished.

Him nodded. "Oh, I know you can. You're just not trying hard enough."

"Not trying hard enough?" Boomer repeated.

"Right," Him replied. "That's where I come in."

The boys had a confused expression on their faces.

"You want to help us try harder?" Brick asked suspiciously. "How?"

"You'll see," Him smirked. He twirled his claw in circles, streaming a thin black smoke.

Brick was alarmed for a moment. "Hey, hold it! We didn't even agree to this yet!"

The boys felt a cold and sharp sensation rush through their bodies. A few seconds of the pain seemed like an eternity. The boys were getting lightheaded. When the feeling finally stopped, they felt…different…

"What just happened…?" said Brick.

"I just put a simple spell on you," Him chuckled.

"What kind?"

"I now have control of your essences. At midnight tonight, they will belong to me and be added to my power. I will be invincible with the power of your souls!"

"WHAT!" the boys all exclaimed.

Him smirked. "That is, unless…"

"Unless what?" Brick interjected.

"Remember what I said?" Him said, twirling his claw again. "I wanted to help motivate you to defeat the Powerpuff girls. That's why I put this spell on you in the first place."

"So you mean that we just have to hurry and crush the girls before midnight?" asked Brick.

"That's right. You're pretty sharp."

Boomer looked up hopefully. "But uh, you also gave us a little power boost too, right?"

Him shook his head. "Oh, no I didn't. You said yourself that you can beat them on your own. You talk pretty big, so I'd like to see you back it up."

The boys' faces turned pale as they looked up at the sneering demon.

"No…way…" Brick said.

"This can't be happening," Butch added.

"You have five hours," Him cackled.

…………………………

"We thought that if we did what he said, he'd let us off the hook," Butch said.

"But while we were searching the city, I had time to recall," Brick explained. "He never said anything about what would happen if we DID do the job on time. As sneaky as he is, he'd probably use that as a loophole. He might take our souls anyway, he could make us his slaves, who knows?"

Bubbles blinked back tears and Blossom's face softened.

"You're asking to die when Him has a hold of your soul? Now that's just plain pointless! I seriously doubt THAT would help at all," Blossom almost shouted. "Besides, you shouldn't think that we'd ever kill you. No matter what you do, we wouldn't do that to you.

The boys all looked confused, especially Butch. "Why not? We're your enemies! We fight you regularly! In fact, we tried to kill you just a few hours ago! And now you're getting all soft on us! Now YOU'RE the ones not making any sense!"

None of the girls answered. They just stared with melancholy. Buttercup tried to keep a scowl, but deep in her eyes, there was clearly sadness.

The silence was broken by a soft and ominous rumbling. At first, the girls thought it was thunder, but then an eerie swirl of pink fog appeared. And out floated the felonious fiend known to all as Him. His presence seemed to make the stars dim their light.

"It's Him!" the girls gasped.

Him bowed like an actor on stage. "In the flesh. Well boys, what's the matter? Don't tell me you've given up already. There's still time…"

"Go to Heck!" Butch suddenly yelled.

Him lifted an eyebrow in surprise. "What was that?"

"Forget it!" Boomer added. "We ain't taking orders from you anymore!"

Him sighed nonchalantly. "Well…that is just too bad."

The boys' eyes widened in terror as Him twirled his claw and trailed the same black smoke as before. He closed his eyes in concentration, and the black smoke formed into a strange disc shape. Suddenly, he opened his glowing eyes wide! Then bright sparks of yellow lightning surrounded the boys and pierced in and out of their flesh.

The boys screamed with agony as the sparks continued to circle their bodies. Three wisps of what looked like white smoke pulled out of their mouths and they became silent. The white wisps floated into the black disc, and it began to change. The black disc was now a round mirror. The lightning around the boys stopped and they limply dropped down from the sky. It all happened so quickly that the girls were too shocked to react.

Buttercup and Bubbles dove straight down after them. Before Blossom could join her sisters, she was stopped when she heard Him sniggering at the disaster. His menacing laughter made Blossom's blood boil.

"Using the boys as pawns to do your dirty work, and now taking their essences…" she growled. "You spineless bast-!"

Before she could finish, Him swirled around in his pink cloud cackling, the mirror right behind him. Blossom clenched her teeth in anger and shot a blast from her arms at the cloud. The mist disappeared, and all that was left was a hole in the sky, the doorway to Him's dimension. Blossom kept her beams steady against either side of the gap to keep it open.

Meanwhile, Bubbles and Buttercup slowly got closer and closer to reaching the boys. When they were only about 15 feet above the ground, Bubbles caught Butch in her arms, and Buttercup caught Brick and Boomer with each arm and hoisted them onto her shoulders. They stopped themselves just in time to avoid hitting the hard road.

Bubbles and Buttercup quickly carried the boys into their house through the round windows and gently set them down on top of their bed. Just out of wondering, Bubbles opened one of Brick's eyes. It was glazed and lifeless, and sent a chill down her spine. Just then, she heard her sister calling from far back up in the sky.

"Bubbles! Buttercup! Get over here!"

Immediately, the two girls soared up to see Blossom using her hand beams to hold a large hole in the air open. On the other side was a dark, horrid place that was known only as Him's domain. As Blossom struggled to hold it, the gap was slowly getting smaller and smaller.

Blossom didn't even have to tell Bubbles and Buttercup what to do, because they already knew. Without hesitation, they flew through the opening and into the realm of evil. Blossom got ready, and let go of the void. At the same time, she darted in, just barely making it. The hole disappeared completely and all was quiet over Townsville.

30 minutes to midnight and counting…

To be continued…


	7. The Final Battle Begins

Aw, no reviews for Chapter 6? Oh well. My main goal for this story is to finish it.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Powerpuff Girls.

"Deadline"

Chapter 7:

…………………………

In another dimension was a realm of nightmares. This place was the domain of the evilest of evil, the cruelest of cruel, Him. The domain was nothing but several small floating islands drifting about in empty space. The eerie silence was pierced by a young yet powerful voice.

"HIM! Where are you! Show yourself!" Blossom shouted.

Suddenly, Him appeared out of thin air in front of the Powerpuff Girls, making their hearts jump.

"Well hello, girls. I don't remember inviting you here, but make yourselves at home anyway."

The girls glared at Him straight in the eye. They weren't going to back down or show any fear. They knew they couldn't because it would only please him.

"You've got some nerve, Him," Blossom growled. "You forced the Rowdyruff Boys to do your bidding and then took their souls anyway! And half an hour early at that!"

Him shrugged nonchalantly. "Guilty as charged. And in case you wanted to know about earlier, you were right, Blossom. It really would have been pointless to finish them off. I already had a grip on their essences and could take them whenever I pleased. If they died, then their souls would just be free for grabs."

The girls trembled with anger at Him's entertained tone of voice. He was clearly enjoying this.

"Still, a deal is a deal. The spell stated that the boys' souls would be added to my power at midnight, meaning no later and, yes, no sooner either."

Him rolled over in midair into a more relaxed position. His face was calm as he twirled his claw and the same mirror that held the Rowdyruff Boys' souls appeared in a swirl of pink smoke.

"There's nothing you can do to stop this spell. Sadly, all you can do is wait for the time when I'll be invincible."

"The liar," Blossom thought. "He's lied to us and fooled us so many times before. I bet there IS a way to break the spell. But the question is…how?"

Him chuckled wickedly. "In the meantime, I suggest we have a little fun."

Him waved his red lobster claw again and the domain darkened. Several black pools appeared on the island floors. From those puddles rose many horrible black monsters. Most of them looked like giant beetle drones, and some were shaped like wasps with glowing stingers. They were as large as ponies. But the largest and deadliest-looking of all were three scorpion-like creatures the size of elephants. And that did not include their humongous tails and pincers. The stingers on their towering tails dripped acid onto their own backs, but it didn't even scathe their sturdy exoskeletons.

"This should kill some time," Him cackled maliciously as the monsters dispatched.

The wasps flew around in circles in the air. The scorpions poised their tails and claws, ready to attack. And the drones gathered together like the infantry of an army. The ones that were on separate islands would sprout wings from under their shells and buzz over from one island to the next.

Blossom whispered her plan to her sisters and they nodded once. The girls flew straight up and joined hands to form a triangular skydiving formation. They then began to spin in midair like a high-speed merry-go-round. They whirled faster and faster until they were just a blurry ring. A spot of light appeared at the center of the formation and there was a blinding flash.

When the light faded away, there were now eight of each Powerpuff Girl! The girls have just done Plan XQ, the self-multiplying maneuver that they had used to fight an alien force many months ago.

As if by a silent signal, the drones charged. At the same time, all twenty-four Powerpuffs charged as well. Nine duplicates clashed with the drones, since there were so many of them. Another nine duplicates decided to take on the scorpions, one set each. And the last three duplicates flew around to shoot down the wasps. The original girls returned their attention to Him.

"Sorry, but I'm afraid distracting us isn't going to work," Blossom exclaimed proudly.

Him had never seen the girls perform that maneuver before and was quite surprised. He was about to say something to them when suddenly a beam of white light from a distant wasp shot right between Him and the mirror. The force of the beam sent the mirror flying backward away from Him. Bubbles took the chance to dash in with lightning speed and snatch it in her hands. She then made a quick U-turn back to her sisters.

"Way to go, Bubbles!" said Buttercup.

Bubbles glanced into the mirror and was shocked at what she saw. Her reflection moved on its own! It then talked to her in Brick's voice!

"It's me," the reflection said.

"What the-?" Bubbles sputtered.

"This is Brick!" the reflection replied.

"Brick! What's going on!"

"I'm using your reflection to communicate with you! Now listen, Him was just lying when he said you couldn't do anything to break the spell!"

"We know that. He always lies about these sorts of things! So do you have any idea how to stop Him?"

"I don't know for sure. But I figured that since the magic for this spell was from Him, then I bet that if you destroy Him, the spell will die away with him," the reflection explained.

"I see…"

"And there's one more thing you should know."

"What?" Bubbles asked.

"Don't let anything happen to this mirror. If it breaks, then our souls will be shattered and we'll never be able to come back to life."

"But I was told souls can't be destroyed! …Can they?"

Bubbles' reflection didn't say anything. It just stared back sullenly. The mirror became foggy for a few seconds and then when it cleared up, Bubbles' reflection was now just a normal reflection.

Now Bubbles knew what to do. However, she also knew that destroying Him was something much easier said than done. Even after years of battling with Him, the girls never were able to truly defeat him. Next to the Rowdyruff Boys, he was most likely the most formidable opponent they have ever faced. Another problem was that the girls had less than a half hour to defeat Him before it would be too late.

Bubbles' mind snapped back to reality when she heard her sister's yell.

"Bubbles, what are you doing! Don't just stand there!"

Blossom and Buttercup were fighting with the giant dark insects in an attempt to keep them away from Bubbles. The Powerpuff duplicates had just been wiped out, but not before they destroyed most of the drones and wasps. However, none of the scorpions were dead or even injured! Buttercup split a drone in half with a downward hatchet kick and looked especially annoyed.

"It's about time you heard us!" she yelled. "While we were busting our butts YOU were just staring at yourself in that piece of junk! Sheesh, and I thought BLOSSOM was vain!"

"Buttercup!" Blossom shouted.

"Sorry, but I heard Brick talking to me through the mirror," Bubbles exclaimed. "He said that we have to protect this thing and destroy Him!"

Suddenly, a beam of white light shot past the girls, startling them and just barely missing the mirror. It came from one of the wasps that were buzzing around from a distance. Buttercup shot her eye laser at it and killed it in one shot.

"Okay girls, we don't have much time, so we shouldn't let these things distract us!" Blossom ordered.

Blossom looked around, but Him wasn't anywhere to be seen.

"Argh! NOW where is that coward hiding?" Buttercup exclaimed, frustrated.

The dark monsters had chosen a new target; the mirror which the girls were trying to protect. The three sisters started flying swiftly, passing the mirror back and forth while avoiding the attacking insects. The whole time, they frantically tried to think. How could they possibly defeat Him by midnight if he wasn't even there?

When Bubbles caught the mirror while high in the air, she was hit by a wasp's beam. She released the mirror and was sent flying backward. Her back hit the side of an island hard! She shook her head to regain her senses when she and her sisters saw the mirror falling gracefully toward the floor of another island! It was only several meters away from the stone ground!

The girls all dashed toward the mirror, but Blossom and Bubbles were suddenly stopped. They had just been grabbed from behind by the long pincers of two black scorpions and were bound by their arms and legs. They tried struggling, shooting their lasers, sonic scream, whatever they could think of, but the monsters didn't even budge. The third scorpion stepped right in front of Buttercup to block her. Fortunately for Buttercup, she was ready.

She sped up in a sudden burst, rushing right past the monster, avoiding its large claws. Knowing what Buttercup was aiming for, seven wasps all aimed their stingers for the spot where they predicted Buttercup was heading to and fired their beams!

With her eyes on the mirror, she shot out her arms and caught it, but ended up caught directly in the crossfire. She screamed in the excruciating pain and began to glow bright green!

Blossom and Bubbles also screamed, but in terror for their sister.

"BUTTERCUP!"

(To be continued…)

A/N: Just in case you didn't know: Plan XQ was from the episode "Forced Kin."


	8. Thirst for Revenge

Disclaimer: I don't own the Powerpuff Girls.

"Deadline"

Chapter 8:

Buttercup was glowing brightly and lightning sparks were racking her body ruthlessly. She stopped screaming when she blacked out. She let out a moan and collapsed.

Blossom and Bubbles gave an enormous pull with a sudden jolt of adrenaline and rose upwards. The monstrous scorpions were still holding onto them with their pincers so they were lifted completely off the ground! Despite their being only the size of an elephant, they were quite heavy for the girls.

The two girls jerked left and right in an effort to shake off the creatures, but only succeeded in swinging them back and forth. They shook harder and harder until they were finally free. However, the scorpions were still trying to hang on, so their stockings ended up torn to shreds and their arms were now striped with long red marks. The skin wasn't broken, but the arms were bruised underneath.

They didn't waste a moment to charge full speed at the seven wasps. They destroyed all of the insects with one sweep and then rushed over to Buttercup's side.

Buttercup was no longer spouting lightning, but she was still glowing like hot metal. She lay on the ground gasping like a fish out of water.

"Buttercup, please don't explode!" Bubbles cried.

Blossom: Buttercup! Take deep breaths! Slowly…

Blossom began blowing gently onto Buttercup with her ice breath hoping to soothe her. The ice hissed and floated away as steam as soon as it touched Buttercup's scalding skin. Blossom continued to blow her ice.

After a few minutes, Buttercup's rapid breathing gradually slowed down. And the light radiating from her body faded away. Her skin was now burned reddish pink, charred in a few spots, and her hair was singed at the ends. She opened her eyes to see her sisters.

Buttercup smiled weakly. "Good news, Bubbles. Now I remember where I hid your Doraemon plushy last June."

"Buttercup, having your life flash in front of you isn't even remotely funny!" Blossom snapped. But despite her yelling, she was actually relieved that Buttercup was all right. Bubbles was overjoyed and gave Buttercup a bear hug, causing her to yelp.

"Ow! Watch it!"

"Sorry," Bubbles apologized. "Um, Buttercup? Where's the…?"

Buttercup's red face turned almost pale as she felt something underneath her. She slowly got up to see the mirror, broken in half!

The girls felt their hearts plunge into their stomachs. They didn't say anything. They couldn't. They just couldn't believe their eyes!

In a panic, Buttercup began stammering. "I-it wasn't my fault! Uh, those stupid bug things! They uh, I, I didn't drop it! Honest! I…I…"

Buttercup stopped her babbling, calmed herself and began to quiver. Her eyes were glued to the pieces of glass on the floor. Her throat felt like it was being squeezed.

"I didn't drop it. I fell on it. This IS my fault," she admitted.

"No, it isn't," Blossom replied.

Confused, Buttercup looked up at her sisters. They were looking at Him's creatures with a bitterness Buttercup had never seen in her own sisters before. It was as if they had suddenly changed.

"This is all Him's doing. And he's going to pay…" Blossom growled.

The creatures of darkness gathered around the girls, all ready to jump them at any second. The girls stood back-to-back with each other in a fighting stance. They examined the monsters, counting 14 wasps in a line, 5 drones and 3 scorpions.

As if on a silent cue, the drones lunged and the wasps readied their stingers. The scorpions held up their pincers and acid tails, ready and waiting for the right time.

Bubbles zipped under a drone and gave an upward punch. Her fist busted right through the shell and was sticking out of the other side. Then she pulled it off her arm and threw it like a discus at the wasps, destroying two of them. She then flew up while avoiding the beams the remaining wasps shot and used her sonic scream, immobilizing them. While they were still paralyzed, she charged up her energy balls in her hands and fired, blowing them into dust!

A scorpion swept for Blossom with its pincer, but she jumped and used her ice breath to freeze it by its legs to the floor. Then she flew under the island and picked it up by the bottom. She flipped it over and smashed it on the floor of another island. Unfortunately, the gigantic bug was still alive. The force caused the ice around its legs to break, so it was free to shoot acid from its tail at Blossom. Blossom dodged the acid and it corroded part of another stone island behind her.

Buttercup was busy with the last of the drones when a scorpion approached her. She quickly grabbed a drone and rammed it through the scorpion's tail. It waved its tail clumsily to dislodge the beetle. In the meantime, it made a grab for Buttercup with its claw. It managed to catch her, but she was deep in the middle instead of at the ends. She pushed against both sides of the pincer with her arms as it tried to grip her harder. Buttercup could feel anger rising up in her, filling her veins. In a fury, she yelled and pushed so hard, the claw snapped apart loudly! Buttercup was free, but her arms were so tired they just hung at her sides as she tried to catch her breath.

The girls got back together. All of the wasps and drones were gone, but the scorpions were far from defeated. The girls knew that these ones were too tough. It would be difficult to beat just one, but facing three at once would be too much for them!

"Now what do we do?" Bubbles cried worriedly.

Blossom looked around, trying to find a clue. She glanced over a ledge and an idea hit her.

"What we should have done a long time ago. Here's my plan!"

Blossom quickly whispered to her sisters and their faces brightened.

"I get it!" the two exclaimed in unison.

"Let's get 'em, girls!"

Blossom charged forward with her sisters following close behind. The girls picked up one scorpion, Blossom holding its tail and Bubbles and Buttercup each holding a pincer. The creature struggled wildly, but the girls held on and carried it over the island. With a mighty heave, the girls flung it over the edge. The scorpion clawed away at thin air as it plummeted down to an eternal fall through empty space.

Buttercup couldn't resist mocking the beast. "Ha! Better grow some wings, ugly!"

The girls repeated the process with the other two scorpions. The one Buttercup fought earlier was especially easy since it was missing a claw and the dead, half-dissolved drone on its tail kept it from spewing acid. In no time at all, the monsters were gone for good.

Bubbles let out a sigh. "Phew! I wonder why we didn't think of this sooner!"

Just then, the domain began to darken. The air became colder and pink-colored clouds formed in the air. The girls' eyes narrowed as the despicable demon known as Him appeared.

"Him…" the girls growled.

Him was calm at first, but when he noticed his magic mirror broken in two, he gasped in complete shock.

"Oh, no! Look at what you girls have done! Now I can't combine their souls to my power! My plan is ruined…"

But the girls didn't feel the least bit victorious over foiling Him's scheme. Their blood boiled in their veins and they felt like they were on fire! As if powered by their anger, the girls started to feel stronger than they ever were before. And combined with their anger was their desire to avenge the boys.

Him could feel the girls' blazing auras contrasting the pure cold hatred in their eyes. He could feel the girls becoming more and more powerful. This power seemed like enough to send Him into oblivion himself. For an instant he felt uneasy, but then his mouth curled into a wicked grin.

"Then again," he thought. "I may still be able to destroy them yet…"

To be continued…


	9. Game Over

Still no reviews, huh? Sure I don't need them but I'd like them.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Powerpuff Girls.

"Deadline"

Chapter 9:

The Powerpuff Girls shook in fury at Him. They could feel this murderous rage building up inside them, suppressing their pain and fatigue. And at the same time, they felt stronger than they ever had felt in their lives.

The girls were a mess from their earlier fight against Him's minions. Blossom and Bubbles had black and blue stripes down their arms and their socks were torn. Buttercup looked worse, with all of her skin severely burned and her once deep raven hair singed a charcoal grayish-black. But they still stood tall and unafraid, as they had just begun their battle.

Him wasn't afraid either, for he knew something that could still give him a chance to destroy the girls.

"Him!" Blossom roared. "Now you're gonna pay!"

Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup shot up at once and charged toward Him in an organized formation. They then began punching and kicking at him with enough power to split Duranium! Unfortunately, Him was swiftly dodging the blows. He moved as if he were made of rubber, twisting this way and that. His nonchalant expression frustrated the girls and their anger kept building up! And feeling the girls' fury only pleased him. Him felt himself becoming stronger and even more confident. He continued to avoid the three girls, taunting them without words, but with a simple smile.

Him was a demon whose power came from the negative emotions of others. He had used the Powerpuff Girls' negative feelings against them several times before. And each time, he became powerful enough to overpower the girls themselves.

Right now, the emotion he was using was the girls' anger. As the girls were being powered by their strong feelings, so was Him. However, he knew that the girls' anger wouldn't last much longer. By fighting so furiously, they were already letting off steam. Their anger would soon dissipate as the girls calm down, and Him would start to weaken. Then he wouldn't have enough strength left to destroy them. So he decided to switch them over to a different, longer lasting type of anguish…

The girls stopped their assault to catch their breath, but still kept their eyes on Him. Just then, Him began to grow larger. He was now standing well over 40 feet tall!

Blossom simply smirked. 'Bad move, Him. Growing bigger just makes it harder for you to avoid us,' she thought.

Blossom gave the signal and the girls all attacked Him from different directions. But to their shock, instead of hitting him, they just flew right through him!

Him cackled. "Foolish girls! You should know that you're on MY turf! My own conjuring created this place. So here I wouldn't need many of the things necessary to live. For example, a physical body!"

The girl's eyes widened and they felt their hearts stop for an instant. They knew that since Him didn't have a body, it would be useless to attack him.

The girls' anger evaporated instantly. In its place was the feeling of hopelessness. The air around them seemed to drop in temperature, and the pain and weariness that was suppressed had returned.

Him quickly felt himself becoming even more powerful! He grew even taller, his eyes glowed a fiery red and his body thickened. He looked fearsome, to put it mildly!

The girls stared up in horror. But then Blossom noticed that this scene looked familiar! She remembered the time when Him gave her and her sisters nightmares about the things they feared the most. The girls were helpless at first, but when they overcame their fear, Him was rendered harmless.

"Don't give in, girls! Him is just using our feelings against us!" Blossom exclaimed.

"But we can't fight him!" Buttercup retorted.

"Not physically, we can't! But remember all those times we defeated Him? It wasn't through our strength or our powers, but through our minds that we beat him! So we still can fight!"

Realizing their sister was right, Bubbles and Buttercup's faces brightened in understand. With newfound confidence in the girls, Him felt himself slowly shrinking. He was shocked at this sudden change. After a moment of wondering what was going on, Him noticed the expressions on the girls' faces. He saw that their hopelessness was no more. Their faces showed optimism, the belief that everything will work out right in the end. Even if it was blind, it was still hope.

This new positive feeling was leeching away at Him, and it showed. His limbs thinned, his eyes stopped glowing and he started becoming smaller and smaller. The girls saw this and felt even more confident!

In no time, Him was back to his original size. He decided to use a last resort attack before he weakened any more. The girls' souls were too pure and righteous for Him to handle if he stole their essences.

'I never thought I'd have to resort to this,' he thought.

Him closed his eyes and whispered a chant very quietly. Blossom noticed this and wondered what he was doing. But then, Him opened his eyes, now glowing an eerie bright yellow!

Blossom immediately collapsed, shaking as if she was having a seizure and sparks of pink energy flashing around her!

"BLOSSOM!" Bubbles and Buttercup screamed.

Buttercup turned to Him, whose eyes were no longer glowing. She pointed to him and fiercely shouted, "What did you do to her?"

"Just another little hex I learned in Spelling," Him explained, the grin of a madman spread across his face. "Right now as I speak, your sister Blossom is being destroyed from the inside. In only a matter of minutes, her soul will be no more." He closed his eyes. "And now, it's YOUR turn!"

Bubbles panicked and covered her eyes. Him flashed his eyes open and Buttercup collapsed, shaking and sparking like Blossom. Bubbles, however, wasn't affected! She uncovered her eyes and noticed that Buttercup was on the ground jolting, but she was all right!

Then it hit her! As long as she didn't look at Him's eyes, she would be fine! But she didn't know how much time she had to stop Him and save her sisters.

Bubbles snapped out of her thinking when she saw Him directly in front of her, closing his eyes to perform the spell again. She turned and zoomed away as fast as she could. Him appeared out of thin air in front of her again. She shut her eyes and turned sharply in another direction. She tried to think of how to stop Him.

Bubbles thought hard. 'Hmm…Him can destroy souls with that spell, but he needs his victims to look him in the eyes in order for it to work. He said he doesn't have a body, so he's probably made of pure essence. So maybe if I can turn his own attack against him…'

Then Bubbled remembered the mirror that originally held the Rowdyruff Boys' souls! She looked around, spotted it and made a dash for it.

But through the corner of her eye, she saw a yellow light and felt a surge of pain zing through her body. She had been partly caught by Him's soul-destroying hex! Her body hurt all over, but she could still move.

Bubbles reached the mirror and picked up the two pieces it had earlier broken into. She turned to see Him's face only about a foot in front of hers. With her hands weak and shaking, she managed to place and hold the two halves together.

Him opened his eyes to finish off the blonde Powerpuff once and for all. But instead of a blue-eyed girl, he saw a long red face! He then felt himself being penetrated by intense raw energy.

Him let out a scream that could wake the dead as lightning sliced through him! He shattered and crumbled into red dust, which disappeared into wisps of gray smoke before it could land on the ground.

Bubbles felt the pain from Him's spell disappear. She felt the mirror fall apart in her hands and watched as it also became dust and faded away.

"I…I did it!" she gasped.

She flew over to where her sisters were and was overjoyed to see them getting up.

"Blossom! Buttercup! You're okay!"

Buttercup moaned and opened her eyes. "Bubbles? What happened?"

"Him's dead now!" Bubbles answered.

Blossom's eyes widened in disbelief. "What? Oh my gosh! You beat him all by yourself!"

Bubbles smiled and shook her head. "No. Not ALL by myself."

"But how?" asked Blossom.

"I used that mirror to reflect Him's spell back at him. I guess your bodies protected your souls from the spell at least for a while."

"Yeah. And since Him didn't have a physical body, he was a goner right away! It all makes sense!"

Just then, the domain around the girls began to fade away. In just a few moments, the girls found themselves back in their dimension, right in front of their house.

"We're back!" the girls exclaimed.

Remembering the Rowdyruff Boys, the girls zipped into their room through the windows. The boys were lying motionless on the girls' bed. Their skin was pale and their chests weren't moving, showing that they weren't breathing.

The girls looked at the clock they had on their wall, which read 11:56. They couldn't believe their dumb luck. They had destroyed Him four minutes before they had to, yet by breaking the mirror they had still failed to save the boys.

Blossom hesitantly reached forward and picked up Brick's clammy hand, feeling his wrist. There was no sign of a pulse.

Tears welled p in the girls' eyes. Bubbles broke down sobbing in her hands. Blossom then joined her and began to cry too. Buttercup, however, refused to let a single tear escape. Her shoulders and lower lip quivered, but she didn't make a sound.

Blossom wiped her eyes and swallowed to loosen her tight throat.

"We have t tell the Professor," she said.

Her sisters nodded and the three walked slowly out of their bedroom to head for Professor Utonium's laboratory. But little did they know that once they closed the door, the clock struck twelve. The Rowdyruff Boys' still bodies began to sparkle as is a light was shining on them. And from their chests came a faint sound…

Bu-Bump…

(To be continued…)

A/N: Almost done! Just two more chapters to go! I just have to revise the next chapter and finish writing the last one. Happy New Year!


	10. Reawakened

"Deadline"

Chapter 10:

Below the Utonium household was a soundproofed, isolated room known as Professor Utonium's laboratory. Inside, the professor was working busily at a beaker over a Bunsen burner. Professor Utonium held up an eyedropper over the bubbling beaker and began carefully squeezing out a drop of acid. He began to perspire with tension as the little drop drew closer and closer to the concoction. Slowly…slowly…

Suddenly, the Powerpuff Girls burst through the soundproofed door with a loud BAM!

"PROFESSOR!!"

SQUIRT! BWOOOSH!

The mixture foamed wildly over the top of the beaker and dissolved away the surface of the professor's desk. The Professor had backed away just in time, but slapped his forehead in frustration.

"Girls," he said. "Don't barge in so suddenly like that! You just scared the- GASP!! What in the name of…!"

The Professor was obviously startled to see his three daughters standing right in front of the door exhausted, hurt and on the verge of tears.

"Professor," Blossom cried. "The Rowdyruff Boys, they…"

"The Rowdyruff Boys did this to you?!" the Professor clenched his fist and his head steamed like a boiling teakettle. "Ooh, that's the last straw! No one hurts my little angels and gets away with it! I'll invent something right now that will…"

"No, Professor. The boys…they're…dead…"

Professor Utonium's eyes widened and he was lost for words. He was a bit confused that the girls were crying over their sworn enemies. But he kneeled down to their level and gently laid his arms around them.

"I'm sorry, girls. Let's go upstairs and you can tell me what happened," he murmured.

In the living room, the girls sat on the Professor's lap as they told him everything that happened, from their fight with the Rowdyruff Boys to the final battle against Him. By the time they finished, Bubbles had broken down in tears.

"Blossom and Bubbles felt the boys weren't really evil," Buttercup admitted, tears starting to build up in her eyes. "And even though I didn't really believe that, I guessed they could change for the better! They really could!"

The Professor wiped the girls' tears and stroked their heads to comfort them. "I understand," he said. The girls leaned into their father's shoulders and continued to cry.

Suddenly the girls' eyes snapped wide open and perked up their heads as if they heard something.

"What is it, girls?"

"There was a voice coming from our room!" said Bubbles.

The girls raced up the stairs into their bedroom. There they saw the Rowdyruff on their bed, alive and awake! The boys looked quite shocked and bewildered. The girls, who were equally shocked floated slowly in front of the bed.

"Oh my gosh!" Bubbles cried. "You…you're alive! You're really alive!"

"I can't believe it!" Blossom exclaimed, tears welling in her eyes again.

Brick snapped out of his astonishment and smirked. "Well you better believe it, sissies! We're back yet again, and it goes to show you, you can't get rid of us! We ain't going anywhere!"

For a moment, the girls just stared, wearing the same kind of sweat-drop as from Chapter 1.

"What are you talking about?" Blossom finally said. "You really thought that we wanted you guys dead?"

Buttercup sank to her knees and hung her head, so her face couldn't be seen. But her shoulders trembled and her breathing was quick and uneven.

"Uh…Huh-uh, huh, huh huh huh…"

Curious, Butch leaned in close to Buttercup. He still couldn't see her face, though.

"Hey. What's so funny?"

WHACK!

"AGH!"

Buttercup looked up to face Butch and angrily shouted, "Do I LOOK like I'm laughing, you moron?!!"

She clearly didn't look like she was laughing. She had tears in her eyes and streaming down her face. But the corners of her mouth were slightly raised in a smile.

There were very few things in the world that could make a Rowdyruff Boy forget about fighting. The astonishing sight of your sworn enemy ragged and crying for you was one of them.

"You're okay!" Bubbles exclaimed. "But how? I thought you were gone forever when that mirror broke!"

"Mirror?" Boomer asked. "What are you talking about?"

"You might not know what I'm talking about, but I know Brick does."

Brick pointed to his chest. "Me?"

"Yeah. You talked to me through my reflection when me and the girls were fighting Him. Your souls were trapped in that mirror, and we could break the spell by destroying him, but if the mirror broke, then you'd have no chance of coming back to life. You said it yourself."

"I don't remember ever saying anything like that," replied Brick. "Now, destroying Him to break the spell, I understand that. But how the heck were we supposed to know about a mirror, let alone what would happen if it broke? That couldn't have been me who talked to you."

Bubbles realized he was right. "You're right. I do remember when Buttercup accidentally fell on the mirror. Him said his plan was ruined."

"The first thing most people would think of is to break the mirror. There was the time when Mojo turned everyone into dogs, and we managed to reverse the effect by smashing the Anubis Dog Head," Buttercup added.

"So in that case, it makes perfect sense that Him would try to trick us into doing the exact opposite," concluded Blossom.

In the meantime, the Professor was seated on one of the girls' small chairs and listened to the kids' conversation. Next to him was the Utonium family's pet, the talking dog.

"You know," Brick said a bit nervously. "We never asked for your help."

Upon hearing that, the girls were peeved! "Well, SORRY!" snapped Blossom. "I guess we should have just left you to…!"

Brick quickly realized the mistake he just made. "Wait! That's not what I meant! What I meant was…uh…"

"What Brick meant was, girls," the Professor said. "That out of all people, the boys never thought you would try to help them. You were archrivals for so long, since when you first met. But you suddenly turned around and faced Him to save their lives."

Brick's eyes widened. "Can this guy read minds or something?" he thought.

"Why would you help us, anyway?" Butch asked, a little suspicious.

"Because you boys aren't really evil," Bubbles answered bluntly.

After just a few seconds, the boys burst out laughing. "Us? Not evil?" Butch exclaimed. "BWA-HA-HA-HA!! Don't make me laugh! ...Although you just did!"

"You must have taken one too many hits to the heads!" Brick guffawed.

"Yeah! That's like saying Princess is poor!" Boomer added. "How can we not be evil?"

"Well," said Bubbles. "You don't have evil intentions or care about evil stuff. Everything you do is for your own entertainment."

"You're wrong!" Butch shouted. "There is an evil thing we care about! And that's…that's…"

Butch and his brothers remembered last Father's Day, when Mojo Jojo and Him were both trying to prove themselves the more evil father. In the end, the boys ditched them both, with Brick saying the one evil thing they care about was destroying the Powerpuff Girls. But that was over a year ago, and after everything that happened, what about now?

Trying to think, Butch scratched his head in a way that could make him go bald. But then he noticed something: his spikes were gone! Had he **really** gone bald?

Butch felt a tuft of hair near the back of his head. It felt like…a cowlick! Just then, everybody noticed that the boys' hair had changed. In fact, their hair had reverted back to their "old style!" The boys now looked the same as they did when they were first created.

"What happened to your hair?" Blossom asked. "When did you guys cut it?"

"We never cut our hair," Boomer answered. "I think this happened because Him's spell wore off."

"What? I thought it grew out."

"No," Brick said. "Him made our hair like that with a wave of his hand…thing."

"So I guess this proves that Him really IS destroyed! If he's gone, then his spell should have disappeared too!" Bubbles concluded.

"Doesn't that include the 'cootie vaccination' he gave you guys?" Buttercup said.

The boys froze and turned pale. They could already feel their insides churning. But the Professor smiled.

"I can take care of that," he said. The kids were surprised.

"You can?" asked the girls.

"Yes. And I can do it right now. Come down to my lab, boys."

At first the boys were a bit uneasy, but they followed him out the bedroom door and walked down the stairs.

Before they stepped through the doorway to the Professor's laboratory, Blossom called out to them.

"Wait! You were about to tell us that one evil thing you guys care about," she said. "What is it?"

The boys looked at each other and finally Brick said, "It's nothing…"

The boys then walked down the stairs into the lab. The Professor, still at the door, said, "Girls, don't worry. Just take a Chemical X bath and go to bed. I'll call the school and tell them you're staying home today."

The girls yawned, nodded and headed back upstairs. They took another Chem. X bath to heal their wounds. But before they could crawl into bed, they heard the sound of cars approaching their house. Buttercup looked at the clock, which read 3 am.

"Who the heck could be coming here at this hour?"

(To be continued…)

Yep, quite OOC. When Tonifranz read this, he had all sorts of questions because this didn't seem realistic.

Thank you for the reviews! I'm sorry but the final chapter won't be up anytime soon because 1.) I'm not done writing it. And 2.) Winter Break is over and I'm going to class again. This semester I have to REALLY buckle down.


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